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Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Post-Vacation Crash

Crashed today.

It's probably due to weaning myself off Ambien last night. I have to take Ambien when I'm away from home in order to stay asleep all night. At home, my regular meds for correcting sleep dysfunction work great, and I sleep soundly, but when I'm not in my own bed, it's just not enough. I take a tiny dose of Ambien - half of a 5 mg pill - but there is still a 1-day adjustment when I get home. I try to minimize the adjustment by taking one-quarter of a pill the first night back (it's tough to cut them that tiny!), but that first night with no Ambien is still always a restless one.

I had all kinds of bizarre dreams last night, too. I know it will be a bad day when I dream of being sick during the night! I dreamt that Ken had dragged me out to an Irish pub with a bunch of people he works with (though no one I recognized). Everyone else was partying it up, and I just kept feeling worse and worse. Not a good sign, right?

Anyway, I'm hoping this will just be a little 1-day blip. It's a Plan-B day. I gave up on going to the grocery store and e-mailed Ken a short list of groceries to pick up to get us through the next two days. Now I think it's time for some lunch and a nice, long nap - that should do the trick.

Sue, I have those dreams too. out somewhere around lots of people and feeling sick. Dreams can be interesting but sometimes they are a bit much. I find nap-sleep to be usually free of restless dreams and somehow more refreshing than night sleep.

Gee, one day? It usually takes me as many days as I was away for to get up to par at all. Especially my sleep pattern, which is one of my worst 'symptoms'.(PS - I'm a lurker, this is my first post here).

Yes, you are right - I am very fortunate to be doing as well as I am now and to be able to recover in just a day. Sorry if I sounded like I was complaining - I know many with CFS are much worse off than me.

It has taken me many years of effort and much trial and error to find the right combination of medications to allow me to function as I do now. If sleep is still your worst symptom, click on the link in this post to my earlier post on treating sleep dysfunction - getting good sleep makes a huge difference and makes all other symptoms better! That was the very first thing my doctor did when I first found her and she recognized I had ME/CFS.

I have had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) since March 2002. Both of my sons also got ME/CFS at ages 6 and 10. Our younger son fully recovered after 10 years of mild illness. Our older son still has ME/CFS and also has Lyme disease plus two other tick infections. This blog is about how our family lives with chronic illness, with a focus on living and enjoying our lives in spite of these challenges.

About Me

I'm a freelance writer who loves to read and cook. My husband and I have two sons, and we all enjoy travel and being outdoors. My older son and I both have chronic illnesses, but we focus on finding joy in every day!